Flesh

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

He glanced down in amusement, letting his hand curl harder into her hip, pushing her against the table just a bit.

Not enough to put a lot of attention to it.

But enough to firmly align his thoughts to hers. "Oh, mm." Tash murmured while considering that for a moment, then a shrug. "I suppose I could show you every bedroom in this place, make sure you are intimately aware of each one of them." Another push, this one firmer and more controlling. "If that's what you want, of course." She still didn't know that he had already moved all her things into this place.

That didn't really matter in his eyes.

She'd find out soon enough and thank him, this much he'd make sure of. "Let's start here though. You haven't seen the table up-close yet, it's truly a beauty." His hands moving, grasping, guiding her in firm gestures.

"See?"

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Oh, she saw.

A little while later they were heading to the room he'd actually intended to show her- of course Cass was holding judgement until she'd seen it herself, but she already agreed that they'd have to look at them all. She'd changed her 'maybe' to 'yes' without feeling the need to specifically point it out, and as far as she was concerned, if this place was theirs, well, it was only right to lay claim properly to all of it.

They passed through a sitting room, and she noticed, absently, the table was just like the one from her apartment. He really had been paying attention-

Wait, that was her table.

She started to pull up short to take a closer look but he tugged her through to the room. And that was where she realized just why his men hadn't let her into her apartment.

They'd already moved all of her things here.

Cass drew up short and frowned.

The yes waffled back into 'maybe' territory.

"When I gave you a key, I did not expect you to go rifling through my apartment, let alone moving it," she said pointedly, not taking another step into the room.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

He stopped tugging her along and returned back towards her.

Leaning against the doorpost, close enough to lean in and nuzzle her brow, if he wanted to. She didn't move away more - part of it because after the dining hall... maybe she figured she had some authority to reassert, but that only served to amuse Itash. He nodded softly, before offering a soft smile, apologetic to some degree. "With how busy your week was, I simply didn't want to put too much more onto your plate, Cass."

A light shrug, before his hand curled into hers, pulling her an inch closer to him.

This she wouldn't have a choice in to stay where she was.

"If this place is not everything you want it to be, I'd understand, love."

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Of course it was everything she wanted.

He knew it.

She knew it.

It wasn't about that.

It was about assumptions. And him taking reigns she had not offered him at all. She did not like the presumption inherent in the entire situation. The fact that she very nearly craved the chance to call someplace like this hers was irrelevant. She resisted his tug at first, but ended up taking a step anyway because of how insistent his hand on her was.

Fortunately, it wasn't about her things themselves. Cassandra had nothing to hide, as far as the items in her apartment went. If anything, he might have been surprised at how few surprises he found. Normal people had secrets, had things they kept private. But there had been nothing of that sort when they had packed up Cass's apartment. The lack of them spoke more loudly than anything they could have found.

That even in the privacy of her own home, Cassandra Paige trusted nothing and no one with her secrets.

"I like it all," she answered crisply. "Though I am not a fan of this room in particular. So you can have your men move our things to another room once I choose it."

In truth the room was fine. But that wasn't the point at all. It was simply a reminder. That she would never be someone who meekly accepted what he offered simply because he offered it.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

He glanced over to the room and then back to Cass.

The smile was suppressed, shoved deep down and kept there for a later opportunity to enjoy.

Instead Tash nodded once. "Of course, Cassandra. Whatever room you prefer will be ours." Oh, there was no sense in being greedy about this one particular thing as far as Tash was concerned. It wouldn't do him any good. No, it was better to just enjoy the victory he had carefully shaped around them. She would move in with him, in the place of his choosing, build to specification.

She would get to choose the room they'd sleep in.

This was an acceptable trade to Itash. "I'd understand if you needed me to wait, while you take a moment to refresh yourself. I was very rude for not giving you the opportunity to do that." Bringing her hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles of the prosthetic, one knuckle at a time. "Or I could show you the other rooms, so you can make sure one is... perfect for our needs."

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Honestly, she had intended on making him wait, but his suggestion meant that it took the teeth out of it. Besides, now that the interruption of her schedule had already occurred it didn't change much.

"No," she said thoughtfully, as if considering. "I'd much rather choose the room first."

Only then did she step in, pushing up on her toes to kiss him.

"It's amazing," she conceded.

Technically, she never said yes, yes I will live here with you, Itash. It meant that she didn't need to walk back her annoyance or 'change her mind' in any capacity. It was simply spoken through intention now, rather than words.

She did not say 'yes'- which meant she held the reserve of 'no' on hand for as long as she needed it.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

It was natural for his hand to press against the small of her back once her lips met his.

Pulling her in an inch deeper and deepening that kiss for a few moments. Only once Tash got what he wanted, did he break that kiss, but didn't let her go immediately. Instead his brow leaned softly against hers and he murmured against her lips.

"Amazing for an amazing woman."

Not even a lie, that one.

Cassandra consistently amazed him, fascinated, the first woman in ages that could keep his attention.